Hate Crime and Victim
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Nigdy Więcej and Opferperspektive (eds.) ISBN 978-3-00-027936-2 HATE CRIME MONITORING AND VICTIM ASSISTANCE Hate Crime Monitoring and VictimAssistance in Poland and Germany IN POLAND AND GERMANY www.nigdywiecej.org www.opferperspektive.de Nigdy Więcej / Opferperspektive Hate Crime Monitoring and Victim Assistance in Poland and Germany Britta Grell Timm Köhler Rafal Pankowski Natalia Sineaeva Marcin Starnawski 1 Published by Nigdy Więcej, PO Box 6, 03-700 Warsaw, Poland in association with Opferperspektive, Rudolf-Breitscheid-Straße 164, D-14482 Potsdam, Germany 2009 Copyright: Britta Grell, Timm Köhler, Rafal Pankowski, Natalia Sineaeva, Marcin Starnawski Coordinator: Dominique John Text Editors and Proofreading: Dacia Christin, Jonas Frykman, Max Henninger Layout: rrita.de Berlin Printed by: Hinkelstein Druck Berlin Funded by Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future,” Lindenstraße 20-25, D-10969 Berlin, Germany www.stiftung-evz.de ISBN 978-3-00-027936-2 1 Contents 5 Foreword 7 Acknowledgements 9 Introduction 17 1 Hate Crimes in Poland and Germany 17 1.1 Latest Incidents and Developments 17 1.1.1. Germany 20 1.1.2 Poland 24 1.2 Concerns Raised by International Organizations 26 1.2.1 Lack of Comparable and Reliable Data 27 1.2.2 Legislation and Law Enforcement 30 1.2.3 Concerns Raised by European NGO-Networks and International Human Rights Organizations 33 1.3 National Programs in Response to Hate Crimes 33 1.3.1 Germany 36 1.3.2 Poland 39 1.4 Summary/Conclusions 40 2 The Legal Framework for Monitoring and Fighting Hate Crimes 41 2.1 Germany 41 2.1.1 Relevant Laws for the Prosecution of Hate Crimes 44 2.1.2 Options for Victim Support within the Legal System 46 2.2 Poland 46 2.2.1 Laws Relevant for the Prosecution of Hate Crimes 50 2.2.2 Options for Victim Support within the Legal System 53 2.2.3 Legal Aid and Compensation for Victims 55 2.3 Summary/Conclusions 2 3 57 3 Official Monitoring of Hate Crimes 58 3.1. Police Registration Systems and Relevant Official Data Sources 58 3.1.1 Germany 58 3.1.1.1 Police Classification and Registration System 63 3.1.1.2 Demands and Recommendations by Legal Experts and NGOs 64 3.1.1.3 Official Data on Hate Crimes 66 3.1.2 Poland 66 3.1.2.1. Official Data on Hate Crimes 69 3.1.2.2 Concerns of Supranational Bodies and NGOs 72 3.2 Data on Legal Proceedings and Convictions 72 3.2.1 Germany 74 3.2.2 Poland 76 3.3 Parliamentary Inquiries 78 3.4 Summary/Conclusions 80 4 Activities of Non-governmental Organizations 82 4.1 NGOs in Poland 83 4.1.1 Research Design 84 4.1.2 Definitions and Perspectives on Hate Crimes 88 4.1.2.1 Three Types of Operational Approaches to the Problem of Hate Crime 88 4.1.2.1.1 Combating Hate Crimes as an Explicit Component of an Organization’s Agenda 91 4.1.2.1.2 Hate Crime Replaced With Other Terms 92 4.1.2.1.3 The Term Hate Crime Found Problematic, Avoided or Seen as a Relatively Insignificant Issue 95 4.1.2.2 Possible Structural Causes for the Diversity of Perspectives 97 4.1.3 Monitoring of Hate Crimes by NGOs 97 4.1.3.1 Individualized and Occasional Practices of In-community Monitoring 99 4.1.3.2 Regular and Organized Monitoring 100 4.1.3.2.1 Informal Local Monitoring and Public Intervention Campaigns 102 4.1.3.2.2 Community-based Monitoring and Intervention 104 4.1.3.2.3 Community-oriented Research/Victimization Surveys 2 3 105 4.1.3.2.4 Comprehensive Nation-wide Hate Crime Monitoring 106 4.1.4 Reaching and Supporting Victims of Hate Crimes 107 4.1.4.1 Occasional Assistance to Victims of Hate Crimes 112 4.1.4.2 Attempts at Creating Systematic Forms of Victim Assistance 116 4.1.5 Interest in Monitoring and Victim Assistance/Demands and Resources for those Activities 121 4.1.6 Main Problems for NGO Monitoring of Hate Crimes and Victim Assistance 125 4.1.7 Experiences and expectations with regard to national and international cooperation 127 4.1.8 Types of NGOs and Their Approaches 130 4.1.9 Summary/Conclusions 131 4.2. NGOs in Germany 133 4.2.1 Research Design 135 4.2.2 Different Operational Definitions and Perspectives on Hate Crimes 136 4.2.2.1 Hate Crime as an Explicit Part of Organizations’ Agenda 142 4.2.2.2 Other Organizations without an Exclusive Focus on Hate Crimes 144 4.2.3 Monitoring of Hate Crimes by NGOs 145 4.2.3.1 Victimization Surveys 147 4.2.3.2 Documentation on Hate Crimes Based Mainly on Media Surveys 150 4.2.3.3 Monitoring by Specialized Victim Support Organizations 154 4.2.4 Reaching and Supporting Victims of Hate Crime 155 4.2.4.1 The CIVITAS Concept 157 4.2.4.1.1 ReachOut/Ariba (Berlin) and LOBBI (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) 161 4.2.4.2 Hate Crime Victim Assistance under the Program Competent for Democracy 165 4.2.4.3 Assistance to Victims of Homophobic Violence 167 4.2.4.4 Anti-discrimination Offices 172 4.2.4.5 Other Crime Victim Support Organizations 176 4.2.5 Types of NGOs and their Approaches 177 4.2.6 German-Polish Cooperation: Experiences and Interests 179 4.2.7 Summary/Conclusions 4 5 182 5 Recommendations 186 References 197 Appendix 197 Poland: List of Interview Partners 199 NGOs/Groups Active in the Field of Anti-racism, Human Rights, Antidiscrimination and Popular Education 200 LGBT Organizations 200 Organizations Representing Officially Recognized National and Ethnic Minorities 201 Organizations Representing Immigrant Minorities 203 Germany: List of Interview Partners 204 NGOs in the Field of Counseling for Victims of Right-wing, Racist and Anti-Semitic Violence 206 General Victim Support Organizations 206 NGOs in the Field of Anti-discrimination Work 206 Organizations Counseling LGBT Victims of Homophobic Violence 207 NGOs Working on Anti-racism Measures 208 Organizations of Immigrants 208 Academic Institutions 209 List of Tables and Figures 4 5 Foreword The Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” is pleased to be able to present this explorative study on hate crimes in Germany and in Poland to the public. The study is an intermediate result of a work process initiated by the Foundation to develop its specific commitment to international protection of human rights in cooperation with actors from civil society. The Foundation’s focus on human rights makes an emphatic start with the victims of hate crimes, analysing their situation, their interests and their need for empowerment and practical solidarity. After all, the Foundation itself is a result of an international political process benefiting victims of human rights violations, especially victims of forced labour under National Socialism who were bereft not only of effective resources to defend themselves, but also of social commitment from their fellow men. Moral, human, financial and legal gestures of recognition of this injustice were withheld for a shamefully long period after the end of World War II and wounded the respect due to the victims, as well as the principles of an indivisible legal culture. In remembrance of this injustice and the subsequent omissions, the Foundation aims to promote capacity building among civil society actors in future that will benefit vulnerable groups directly and complement existing preventive instruments. Not only does this study substantiate the existence of hate crimes in Germany and in Poland–two of the societies with which the Foundation plans to cooperate. The distinct gaps in systematic and critical monitoring and reliable data documented here lead us to fear that even today, in the heart of Europe, violations of the rights of for instance refugees, Roma or homosexuals continue to encounter a certain degree of social acceptance or indifference, instead of resolute advocacy of the same protection of rights, freedoms and dignities for all. The international commitment of the Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” will aim to ensure availability of direct offers of legal and personal assistance to victims of hate crimes. The project is expected to run in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and Ukraine. The necessary training of appropriate NGOs and the cross-frontier sharing of experience should trigger sustainable impulses for improving the situation and legal position of victims of hate crimes and for sensitising the relevant groups in society. This is to be done in close partnership cooperation between actors in the countries involved. The present study documents the first intensive and practical German-Polish cooperation in the area of hate crimes. We wish to thank the staff of the two partners in cooperation, the Nigdy Więcej association from Warsaw and the registered association for victims Opferperspektive from Potsdam, above all for their committed response to our initiative, for developing a comparative analytical and conceptual framework for the study and 6 7 implementing this effectively up and down the country, as well as for contributing their valuable networks and their expertise, and last but not least for the careful preparation of this publication. Our thanks are due to the some 60 Polish and German interviewees from self-help initiatives and a wide range of associations for their trust and confidence in allowing us an insight into their work and for sharing their experience and their perspectives with us. This helped us to quantify the need for capacity building to assist the victims of hate crimes, whether this comprise legal, personal or psychological assistance. We would be grateful to receive any suggestions for development of the human rights commitment of our Foundation for the benefit of victims of hate crimes.